Mater Private Group company makes €23.4m loss under new owners

Interest payments and amortisation charge lead to loss for five-month period after deal

The company behind the Mater Private Group made a net loss of €23.4 million in the final five months of 2018.

The hospital group, which changed ownership last year, recorded turnover of almost €1.2 million for its trading period from the end of July 2018 to December 30th of that year, accounts for Oval Topco Limited show.

It made an operating profit of €316,000 for the five months, but this turned to a loss as a result of loan interest and similar expenses totalling €13.6 million and an amortisation charge of €8.4 million.

As well as the two Mater Private hospitals in Dublin and Cork, the group operates two advanced cancer centres in Limerick and Liverpool as well as a number of out-patient clinics in the Republic.

The group employs 1,452 people, including more than 300 consultants.

French investment company Infravia, the parent of Oval Topco, bought the group from US fund Harbourvest in April 2018. The deal, thought to value the business at about €500 million, subsequently closed on July 31st and was the hospital’s second change of ownership in a year.

Oval Topco had bank loans of €222 million as of the end of 2018, according to the accounts filed to the Companies Office. The company has lending facilities in place with AIB, Bank of Ireland, Barclays Bank, Ulster Bank, ING Group, BNP Paribas, Intesa Sanpaolo and Austrian bank Bawag PSK.

Parent company

Some €382.3 million was also payable from the company to Infravia. This comprises a shareholders loan, associated interest and management fees and brings Oval Topco’s total debt above €600 million.

The directors of the company, which was incorporated in April 2018, include the Mater Private Group’s Irish chief executive John Hurley.

“The acquisition of the group by Infravia represents a significant opportunity for the hospital to continue its current mission with a long-term owner that is committed to further capital investment and development of facilities,” the directors said in a report accompanying the accounts.

“This future development will benefit patients, staff and consultants, and help Mater Private continue to develop.”

Paris-based Infravia Capital Partners manages about €4 billion of assets through several funds operating in infrastructure sectors across Europe.